[dobriety]

...we're up to 45 minutes now. He's been great while I'm out, doesn't get into any mischeif and is generally laying on the couch when I return, but today when I came back he was on a chair that he's not allowed up on. Now I don't want to hamper our progress here by scolding him for being up there, though maybe I should? I really don't know.

How would you guys handle this? Funny enough it's a chair that not even I sit in, generally. Not sure what drew him there.

 

[MeadowCat]

Honestly, the likelihood of you being able to keep him off the chair (while he's allowed on other furniture) if he's unsupervised seems very slim. That's a hard distinction for a dog to make. He will be up there when you aren't there to correct, and then you're in an "intermittent reward" situation and it'll be even harder to stop. Is there a reason not to let him on this chair? If he absolutely can't be on it, you probably need to set up a deterrent for when you aren't there so he can't practice the bad behavior.

 

[namaily]

Does Jack have his own bedding or place he is allowed to be when you are home or away? I would think if you catch him on a chair he is not normally allowed on when you leave that you should correct him by telling Jack OFF and stay OFF. I am also training Lars to stay off the couches when he is left out of his crate when we leave for short periods of time. He does know what OFF means so if we catch him on a piece of furniture when we return I simply tell him OFF and Stay OFF!!! Lars is about 20 months old and is leaning very quickly his place while we are away.